Be Prepared
by TheWarriorQueen
Summary: For Flamestodustloverstofriends. Oneshot. Complete. Teddy was never a Boy Scout, but he made a point of being prepared. However, he had never expected to have to be prepared for this. SLASH, my first attempt.


**For Flamestodustloverstofriends, who requested Teddy/James slash. I, a newbie in slash writing, humbly submit this piece. There is implied... ehrm... shenanigans, but nothing in any way graphic. I drop the curtain before then, and only raise it the morning after. For those of you not familiar with my Next-Gen writing, the Tribe is the Weasley+Potter collective. They named themselves that.**

**Disclaimer: As I highly doubt JKR was thinking of this when she wrote that Epilogue, I'm pretty certain I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Teddy Lupin swore, more out of resignation than anger, as James Sirius Potter lurched into him again. "Jamie, I know it's Tribe tradition to get utterly drunk on your seventeenth birthday, but why did you gits pick me as the designated Appparater?"

"Coz… You're the eldesht. It wash you or Vi-_hic_-toire. And she shaid she wash the Apparoray-Apparatisht-Appa-person, lasht time at Moll's… So that!" With that, the inebriated messy-haired boy, no; he was a man now; fell asleep in the Metamorphmagus' arms.

Teddy groaned, swore again, and kicked at the door of his and Victoire's flat. He glanced around, checking that Victoire had not picked up someone along the way home. They had recently agreed to a quasi-open relationship, as she had never dated anyone else, and they had worried that perhaps she was only with him out of habit. It had taken some getting used to, however, when she started bringing other guys home. The open-plan apartment was, however, empty of other people and a note on the table informed him that she was staying over at Molly's for the night, as Molly had been dumped in a spectacular fashion that day.

James woke up when Teddy dropped him in an armchair. "Teddy? I wash wondering… I think I might be gay… Or no, I mean bi-_hic_-shexual. How did you know you were bi?" Teddy swore softly. This was not a conversation he had ever expected to have, although he supposed that as all of the Tribe came to him with problems they didn't feel free to take to their parents, he really should have been prepared.

"Well, I was thirteen, much younger than you, but that doesn't really mean anything, I suppose. Victoire was only eleven at that point, and so I was experimenting with others my own age, just minor snogging, yeah?" Teddy slumped onto the chair across from James, who was clearly doing his bleary best to focus. "And one day this other guy asks if I'd mind if he kissed me. He had just realized he was crushing on a guy, and wanted to find out if he was gay or not. He went to me because I seemed the friendliest in our year, and I had a reputation for being trustworthy with secrets. So, I agreed, and found out I actually enjoyed it. Do you need more details, or…"

"No more detailsh neshesharry," James replied. Teddy breathed a sigh of relief. "But 'f you don't mind, a pract-_hic_-al demonshtran-demonshrel-demo-thing, might confirm it for me." Teddy swore under his breath. He practically stormed over to the other side of the counter dividing the living and sleeping area from kitchen, his hair turning a shade of red to rival any Weasley. Most would believe that indicated anger, but it was a sign of embarrassment.

After a bit of hunting in the pantry, nearly knocking over Fred and Roxie's experimental plant, which growled at him, he found what he was looking for. He marched back to where the Gryffindor sat, gazing aimlessly into the fire. "Here," he said, passing him a Sobering Potion. "Ask me again when you're sober."

"Tastes like hell. Why'd you make me drink it first?" James was petulant, and Teddy allowed a rare scowl to paste itself on his face.

"I am not having some drunken fling with an irresponsible prat who is only just of age, and unsure of his sexuality," he snapped, his voice taking on the tone of the Ravenclaw Debating Champion he had been, the one who cowed the Gryffindors, out-manipulated the Slytherins, and was more tenacious than the Hufflepuffs. "So, if you were serious, ask again. Or we will just forget it, no problem, yeah?"

James swallowed. "Teddy, I'm asking now, totally sober, if you'd be willing to help me find out if I really am attracted to guys. I thought I was straight, but recently my dreams…" He looked nervous, and Teddy wondered if it was due to having to ask the question without any liquid courage coursing through his veins, or possibly fear of a scathing rejection, or (most likely) nerves about what the request actually entailed. "Please," he whispered, hanging his head.

The ex-Ravenclaw huffed, swearing again, and rubbing a hand across his stubble. "Alright then, as you're totally sober, and still wanting whatever-this'll-be, here goes…" He pulled James gently towards him and pressed an expert kiss to his lips, mildly amused when the slightly shorter man gasped and clutched him tightly. Leaning back to assess James' reaction, he grinned. "Alright, Jamie, I can tell you this: you're definitely attracted to your own gender." Morphing into a female form, he kissed James again, and couldn't contain a chuckle when it evoked nearly the same reaction. "And you seem just as attracted to the opposite gender as well, unless it's merely a reaction to my kissing know-how, yeah?"

"Maybe," James breathed, looking oddly innocent for someone who was notorious for flirting with and subsequently snogging every girl he met. "Better to find out then." With a startling jolt, Teddy realized that this wasn't just a favour for one of his friends, he was actually looking forward to this… whatever-this-was. He reached for the hem of James' shirt, but tanned hands, Chaser's hands, stopped him. "Ted, I just thought… What about Victoire? Just a kiss wasn't cheating, not really, but this…"

Teddy swore yet again, wondering briefly when he'd become quite so foul mouthed, and where James had picked up his moral compass from. "She won't mind, we're trying an open relationship. Now, if you don't want this, say so, or we'll continue, yeah?" The hands released his, and he continued his leisurely education of the younger man.

* * *

Teddy opened his eyes, wondering why he remembered a wild party, but had no hangover to match. _Oh, I was the designated Appparater, yeah?_ Then he recalled what had followed, and he pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. Even when both participants were sober, morning after regrets were still a major possibility to consider. He heard a rustle around the armchairs and sat up. There was nothing quite like facing the music... "Jamie?"

"Hey, Ted, do you have any idea where my clothing got to?" The Gryffindor sounded frustrated, but not awkward or regretful, and Teddy breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to mess up a good friendship with ill-thought-out actions.

"Are you a wizard or not? Summon it, yeah?"

"Uh, Ted, I can't find my wand."

Teddy swore. "Okay, use mine."

"Teddy… I can't find yours either." Teddy didn't just swear; he let loose a string of expletives that would have had his Granmum scrubbing his mouth out with soap. When James spoke next, he sounded amused. "Do you eat with that mouth?"

The Metamorphmagus slumped momentarily, and then rolled out of the bed. "I think you know full well I do a lot more than just eat with it. Alright, it can't be that hard to find stuff in a one-room and bathroom flat, so what have you found so far?"

Running a hand through his hair, adding further to the natural just-shagged look, the other replied, "Well, here are your boxers, I found mine… Here's your shirt, I can't find mine… Um, here's one of your socks, I have both of mine… I found my hoodie, you didn't have one… The big question is; where are our trousers? They'll have our wands in them."

"Jamie, that's just plain irritating. Ah, here's mine," he sighed, swearing effusively as he lifted the armchair to retrieve his jeans. Extracting his wand, he waved it half-heartedly whilst attempting to put the article of clothing in question back on. "Accio James' jeans!" Seconds later, he was hit on the back of the head by worn denim. Tossing the jeans to James, he swore, rubbing his head.

James began to put his jeans on, but froze as the door opened. A voice that could only be described as frothy giggled, "Hey, Teddy! Oh, hi, James…"

"Um, hi, Victoire," James offered, hopping around in his trousers, one leg in, one leg out. He grinned awkwardly at his cousin, evidently unsure quite how one acts when one has clearly been in bed with someone else's boyfriend, even when they are in an open relationship. He Summoned his shirt and shoes in uncomfortable silence, and finished dressing. Victoire snickered softly before she and Teddy accompanied him to the stairs.

"Oh, James," she sighed. "So you're definitely bi?"

He blushed, a glow that spread from his cheeks to his ears and nose. "Yes. Er, thanks, Ted."

"No problem, yeah? Bye, James!"

It was, as Teddy reflected later, something he really should have been prepared for, yeah?

* * *

**Teehee. Awk-ward! So for a first slash, how was that?**

**In other news, I'm on AO3! (Archive Of Our Own) I'm under the same name. Because of FF dot net cracking down as they are, I will be copying all my stories across to AO3, and only posting my review reward fics over here. All new stories not due to reviews will be over there as well.**

**TheWarriorQueen**


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